Who Can Vote in the By-Election

Who is eligible to vote in the municipal by-election? 

Anyone can vote in a municipal election who, on the day of the election, is:

  • 18 years of age or older
  • a Canadian citizen; and
  • You qualifity to vote in the Township of Rideau Lakes and live or own property in Ward 1 - Bastard and South Burgess.

There are 3 ways that you can qualify to vote in a municipality:

  • As a resident elector if you live in Ward 1 - Bastard and South Burgess. You may own, rent, live in shared accommodation where you do not pay rent or live in the municipality but do not have a fixed address. Being a resident elector is the most common type of eligibility.
  • As a non-resident elector if you own or rent property in Ward 1 - Bastard and South Burgess, but it’s not the one where you live. You can only be a resident elector in 1 municipality. However, you can be a non-resident elector in any other municipality (or municipalities) where you own or rent property.
  • As the spouse of a non-resident elector if your spouse owns or rents property in Ward 1 - Bastard and South Burgess other than the one where you live. Neither you nor your spouse qualify as a non-resident elector if you do not personally own or rent the property in the municipality. For example, if the property is owned by your business or your cottage is owned by a trust, you would not qualify as a non-resident elector.

Students

There is a special rule for students who may be living away from home while they attend school. If you are a student and consider your "home" to be the place where you live when you are not attending school (i.e. you plan on returning there), then you are eligible to vote in both your “home” municipality and in the municipality where you currently live while attending school.

Your name must be on the voters’ list in order for you to cast a ballot.

Who is not eligible to vote in a municipal elections? 

  • A person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution.
  • A corporation.
  • A person acting as executor or trustee or in any other representative capacity, except as a voting proxy in accordance with section 44 of the Municipal Elections Act.
  • A person who was convicted of the corrupt practice described in subsection 90(3) of the Municipal Elections Act(External link), if voting day in the current election is less than five years after voting day in the election in respect of which he or she was convicted.
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